re-post: wheat germ chocolate chip cookies

I realize I've done a few re-posts lately, and I hope that's not harshing on anyone's gig (I know that's a ridiculous phrase, however, someone said it to my friend once, and I thought it was amazing and therefore immediately added it to my vocabulary). I just like to refer to my favorites now and then, and think they deserve a double spotlight for their ability to stand the test of time. I originally posted this recipe without a picture so I added that, and I wanted to re-write some of the instructions, exactly as I make them, instead of showing what the original recipe was and how I changed it. I had changed it so much that when I'd refer back, I would occasionally miss a step. So here it is, exactly how I make them. These are pretty healthy for a cookie and definitely one of my all time favorite and most requested cookies. 

3/4 cup old fashioned whole rolled oats
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup raw wheat germ
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes (chopped finely)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped very finely chopped pecans

(Makes approximately 30 cookies)

Preheat oven to 400°. Grease cookie sheets or line with a Silpat.

Mix oats, flour and almond meal, in a medium bowl. Add baking soda, salt, cinnamon and whisk until mixed in. Whisk in wheat germ, flax, coconut and chopped pecans.

Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, honey, egg and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. Add the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Chill the dough in a refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The dough should be semi-firm before proceeding with next step.

Use a cookie scoop to scoop out dough and arrange, at least 1 inch apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies, until firm around the edges and barely golden on top, about 9 minutes. Remove baking sheets from the oven immediately and cool the cookies for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks with a spatula to cool. 

NOTES: I think the cookies actually taste the best the next day. Also, the dough can be prepared in advance and kept in the refrigerator, tightly covered for up to a week. 

whole wheat chocolate chip cookies

I stumbled upon this recipe the other day and had to try it. I love chocolate chip cookies of all kinds, but I haven't seen a whole wheat recipe before. So, for you (and mostly for me) I decided to try it. And I'm glad I did. I adjusted it a bit from the recipe on Butteredup, I made my cookies smaller and just used semi-sweet chips (cause I'm lazy), but I was super happy with the result. 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Seen on Butteredup adapted from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce via Orangette

Ingredients: 

3 cups whole wheat flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 ½ teaspoon sea salt 

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar 

1 cup sugar 

2 large eggs 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

8 semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation: 

1. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, and whisk to blend. 

2. Put the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, mix just until the butter and sugars are blended, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the bowl, and blend on low speed until the flour is just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the chocolate, and mix on low speed until evenly combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then use your hands to turn and gently massage the dough, making sure all the flour is absorbed. Chill dough for at least 12 hours. 

3. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat to 350°F. Grease or line two baking sheets with parchment or silpats.

4. Scoop cookie dough onto cookie sheet. (I used a medium cookie scoop to get the size I wanted).   

5. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until somewhat cracked and browned.

1 hour bread

i used to make bread all of the time, but lately i just feel like i don't have the time. rising, proofing, baking, etc. takes a good chunk of time. but my sister found this recipe on my cousins' blog. i have made it twice now it's absolutely dreamy. i've made it in both all wheat or half-white/half-wheat iterations. no matter what i do, it's the lightest bread i've ever made. i LOVE it. now there's really no excuse not to have homemade bread always on hand.

(this comes from my cousin, trina brumble - i hope she doesn't mind i'm sharing this! it's too good not to!)

3 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. vital wheat gluten
1 1/4 tbs. instant yeast
2 1/2 c. steaming hot water (120-130° f)

1 tbs. salt
1/3 c. oil
1/3 c. honey
1 1/2 tbs. lemon juice

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

Mix together the 1st 3 ingredients in your Bosch. Add water all at once and mix for 1 minute; cover and let rest for 10 minutes (this is called sponging).

Add salt, oil, honey, and lemon juice and beat for 1 minute.

Add last flour, 1 cup at a time, beating between each cup. Beat for about 6-10 minutes until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This makes a very soft dough.

Pre-heat oven for 1 minute to lukewarm and turn off. Turn dough onto oiled countertop; divide, shape into 2 loves, place in greased bread pans. Let rise in warm oven for 10-15 minutes until dough reaches the top of the pan. Do not remove bread from oven; turn oven to 350F and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from pans.

Another tip….when the dough is put into the bread pans, squish the dough softly into the corners of your bread loaf pans. This will make your bread cook more evenly and not have the large lump in the middle of your loaf.

whole wheat pita bread

so i have this goal to be able to make anything i want to eat. hummus, crackers, pitas, bread, and one day, fruit leather (when i get the right machinery that is). i found this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, the kitchen sink. originally, it's from "gourmet". it's a pretty easy recipe, but quite time consuming. about three hours to be exact. perfect for a lazy sunday morning. i had to add a bit more wheat flour than she put in her recipe, but they turned out very puffy and delicious. ideal for lunches with soon be be homemade hummus.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread
Gourmet

1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon honey
1 1/4 cups warm water (105-115°F)
2 cups bread flour or high-gluten flour, plus additional for kneading
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Cornmeal for sprinkling baking sheets

Stir together yeast, honey, and 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl, then let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

While yeast mixture stands, stir together flours in another bowl. Whisk 1/2 cup flour mixture into yeast mixture until smooth, then cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Stir in oil, salt, remaining 3/4 cup warm water, and remaining 2 1/2 cups flour mixture until a dough forms.

Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, working in just enough additional flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch down dough and cut into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Flatten 1 ball, then roll out into a 6 1/2- to 7-inch round on floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Transfer round to 1 of 2 baking sheets lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Make 7 more rounds in same manner, arranging them on baking sheets. Loosely cover pitas with 2 clean kitchen towels (not terry cloth) and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Set oven rack in lower third of oven and remove other racks. Preheat oven to 500°F.

Transfer 4 pitas, 1 at a time, directly onto oven rack. Bake until just puffed and pale golden, about 2 minutes. Turn over with tongs and bake 1 minute more. Cool pitas on a cooling rack 2 minutes, then stack and wrap loosely in a kitchen towel to keep pitas warm. Bake remaining 4 pitas in same manner. Serve warm.

my first post: sunday morning bread

one of my favorite things to do on sunday mornings is to make homemade bread.

this is my mom's half white/half wheat bread. (keeping things multi-cultural.)

growing up, i don't really remember having any store-bought bread in our house. my mom was always churning out loaves of bread that she would either feed to us or sell to a few neighbors and friends. and since i aspire to be my mother's daughter, i love to make homemade bread. you can't beat the smell or taste of fresh bread. it's a tough thing to master and while i haven't quite gotten there, i think i'm getting better. hope mama is proud.